Breeding Pair - dogs

sarah7986

Hi There,

My bitch is just under 3 years old and came into heat 2 days ago. I also have a dog of the same breed who is 2 years old. I have my bitch since she was 10 weeks old, but I only bought himself a few months ago after I moved home so now have more space. I intend to let them breed and have one litter of puppies before spaying/neutering both.

At the moment both of them are behaving normally enough, although she is a bit more sensitive than usual. He is being very attentive and gentle with her, but is not showing any 'urges' so far (I realise this will probably take a few more days to kick in).

I have a question I was hoping for some help with. Is it safe to leave them together once she has become receptive, or is there a risk of them mating more often than is safe? From the research I have done, it seems most people who bring a stud dog in repeat the mating every other day for a few days... I am conscious of causing them both more stress, as I am most concerned about their welfare. Although I have only had himself for a few months, he is absolutely besotted with her and is anxious when he's away from her for more than a few minutes.

I realise a lot of people have strong views on dog breeding, and I do understand the concerns. However, I am really in need of some constructive and practical advice here.

Many thanks.

ISDW

Have they had the relevant genetic tests for their breed?

kylith

What breed are they?

The Sweeper

sarah7986 wrote: »

I am conscious of causing them both more stress, as I am most concerned about their welfare. Although I have only had himself for a few months, he is absolutely besotted with her and is anxious when he's away from her for more than a few minutes.

I realise a lot of people have strong views on dog breeding, and I do understand the concerns. However, I am really in need of some constructive and practical advice here.

Many thanks.

Hi Sarah

The most constructive and practical advice I can give you is to have a friend take your male and spoil him rotten until the bitch's heat is over. Keep her indoors until her heat is done, and then have her desexed.

You've allowed both your dogs to reach sexual maturity intact, which means they've had all the benefit they need from their hormones and so on. Their development and skeletal structures and so on are as good as they could get. Now they're at risk of developing mammary tumors, testicular tumors and the bitch may get pyometra (a serious infection of the uterus).

Neutering her, then bringing him home when she's recovered and eventually neutering him - it's the best solution all round. There are no health benefits from letting them have a litter.

If you let them have one litter, the bitch may react to the male when she has her pups. Just because he's the dad doesn't mean she'll let him be involved - she might get so defensive of the pups she goes for him, possibly repeatedly. That would be very stressful for him.

In terms of whether or not to leave them together, there are some folks on here with experience breeding who can answer that, but the one thing I can tell you is if you try and separate the male from her while she's in heat he will be EXTREMELY upset unless you remove him from the house - so you can't split them up by putting her in the hall and him in the kitchen for instance. (If he's large he may try eating the door to get to her.)

andreac

Why do you want or need her to have pups? Are both parents health tested?

Cherry Blossom

Hi OP, why are you having puppies? Are these working dogs or show dogs? What breed are they? Have they both had a full sexual health check up for STI's ect. (a big cause of heart murmurs and other problems in puppies). Have they both had a general vet check up to ensure they are both in good enough health to breed from and that there are no underlying bugs/viruses etc.? Do you have a vet organised that is reliable enough that you can trust them to call to your house immediately in case of an emergency? Where have these dogs come from and are they of breeding quality? Do you have a comprehensive veterinary history of your dogs parents and grandparents? What are the inbreeding coefficients of both dogs and what will the inbreeding coefficient of the pups be? Are you aware of the faults and good points that both your dogs have and are you sure that these two dogs put together will improve on these in the next generation?

These are just some of the general points that need to be taken into consideration, each individual breed has many more factors that need to be taken into account.

The normal course of action for a first time breeder would be to enlist the help of a mentor or possibly more than one, an experienced breeder of the relevant breed, usually this would be the person/people who bred the dogs you now own. There isn't much specific advice anyone can give you as you haven't given any of the necessary relevant info. You should be a member of the relevant breed/working dog club if you are planning to breed pedigree dogs, surely this should provide a support network that novice breeders can tap into?